What I do

I work at the Mr Kipling factory. I cover cakes and I do some work with ready-to-use icing. My job is so wide-ranging, no two days are the same – there is just so much that goes on between farm and fork!

My role covers many different things, from developing new recipes to tracing and recording allergens. This can involve completing the relevant process paperwork that we need, writing product information and writing recipes. I also liaise with factory staff, the new product development team and wider teams. And I’m responsible for the traceability of new ingredients.

Hear more about Jemma's role by watching the video below...

Six cupcakes in a row with blue icing and sprinkles

How I became a technician

I grew up on a farm, so I knew about the food industry, and I loved baking as a hobby. When I started my A-levels, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, so I took English literature, classical studies and geography.

But then I decided to follow my heart and do something I really enjoyed and I did a Food Science and Technology degree. I happened to look at the government website about apprenticeships and saw the same university could offer the degree through an apprenticeship, so I decided to go down this route.

You don’t have to be the person actually baking the cake to work in the food industry, there are lots of different jobs within the sector.

I love seeing the cakes I’ve worked on in people’s supermarket trollies - it’s a real sense of achievement.

A typical day in my
working life

My basic hours are 8.00 am to 4.30 pm, but some days I need to go in early or work late, but it is generally a 40-hour week. I usually start the day doing allergen work and preparing for upcoming audits, making sure that our changeover matrixes are up-to-date and all declaration paperwork is ready. This ensures we can demonstrate that we have followed all the procedures that are needed to pass the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Food Safety Audit.

I prep for any upcoming launches of new products. Using a scheme of work that we are given by the audit board, I have to demonstrate exactly what allergens are in each ingredient. I mainly work with our Technical Manager to make sure it’s all correct and then work with the Specs Department to ensure all specifications and allergens that have to go on the back of the packaging match up with what we have.

A surprising fact about my job

I also do shelf-life validations. If we have a new product or we are relaunching a product, we have to do taste checks to see if it’s acceptable at different stages of its life. We normally do it at start of life, middle of life, end of life and then end of life +7 days, but for some it goes to end of life +21 days, and they are definitely not as enjoyable!

A little more about
my everyday role

The best bits about working in a team

I work in a team of 10-12 people in the technical group. In my process team there is me and one other person, but we work with everyone in the Technical Department. It is great being in a team because you can access so many different levels of knowledge. Everyone shares their experience and knowledge to solve problems and so that everyone can grow.

The next steps in my career journey

I have two years left of my degree, so I am focusing on that. There are so many different opportunities in the food industry, at all levels, whether I want to stay in technical and progress into a management position or explore different areas of the food industry. Having that work experience and the qualifications has set me in good stead.

Find out more about this role

Discover what qualifications you’ll need, how much you can earn, and what the next steps are.

Nine apprentices sitting on sofas socialising

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